Transgene (Paris:TNG) (Euronext Paris: TNG), a company focused on
designing and developing targeted immunotherapies for the treatment of
cancer and infectious diseases, today announced that the first patient
has been included in the multiple dose cohort of the Phase 1/1b trial
with TG1050, Transgene’s immunotherapy product candidate for the
treatment of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection (NCT: 02428400).

The continuation of the trial in the multiple dose cohorts follows the
positive recommendation of the Safety Review Committee (July 2016) as no
severe adverse events have been observed in patients receiving a single
dose of TG1050.

This first-in-man trial is an international, randomized, multi-center,
double-blind, placebo-controlled study evaluating TG1050 in patients who
are currently being treated for chronic HBV infection with
standard-of-care antiviral therapy. The primary objectives of the
Phase 1/1b study are to evaluate the safety and tolerability of TG1050
administered in single and multiple doses and to determine the dose and
schedule of TG1050 administration for further development. Secondary
objectives include evaluating the antiviral activity of and immune
responses to TG1050. First data readout is expected in H2 2017.

TG1050 is a targeted immunotherapy candidate for the treatment of
chronic hepatitis B, based on a viral vector expressing three HBV
antigens. It is a therapeutic vaccine that has been designed and
developed by Transgene’s antiviral research team. Preclinical results
have demonstrated TG1050’s capacity to induce robust, broad and
long-lasting HBV-specific T cells with characteristics similar to those
found in patients whose infection has been resolved1.
Antiviral effects of TG1050, including seroconversion to the surface
antigen (HBsAg), have also been shown1 2.

Chronic hepatitis B is a major unmet medical need, as current treatments
only cure about 3% of the patients. With TG1050, Transgene is looking to
provide a much more-effective treatment that is urgently needed for this
viral liver disease, which can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer.

About Chronic Hepatitis BHepatitis B is a
potentially life-threatening liver infection caused by HBV infection. It
can result in chronic infection and liver disease and, if left
untreated, puts people at high risk of death from cirrhosis of the liver
and liver cancer. Recent figures indicate the number of patients being
treated for chronic hepatitis B was 200,000 in total in the United
States, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom and 100,000
patients in Japan. The eligible Chinese market represents 500,000
patients. Those numbers are expected to increase as more patients are to
be diagnosed and treated for their disease in the coming years (Sources:
ECDC- Incidence of Hepatitis B, Decision Resources: expert opinions).
Currently available antiviral treatments cure only an estimated 3% of
cases, and patients in the developed world must take these treatments
for an average of 15 years and often for their lifetime. Therefore,
there is an urgent need to develop new therapeutic approaches to improve
the cure rate.

About TG1050TG1050 is a targeted immunotherapy
candidate for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B, based on a viral
vector expressing 3 HBV antigens. Transgene has initiated a randomized,
multi-center, double-blind, placebo-controlled safety and dose-finding
first-in-man study (NCT02428400) evaluating the safety and tolerability
of TG1050 in patients who are currently being treated for chronic HBV
infection with standard-of-care antiviral therapy. The technology of
TG1050 is also being developed in China, where it is currently under
SFDA evaluation and has been recently granted an IND number. InChina,
Transgene operates a joint-venture with Tasly Biopharmaceutical
Technology.The latest publications on TG1050 are available on: www.transgene.fr.

About TransgeneTransgene S.A. (Euronext: TNG), part
of Institut Mérieux, is a publicly traded French biopharmaceutical
company focused on designing and developing targeted immunotherapies for
the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases. Transgene’s programs
utilize viral vector technology with the goal of indirectly or directly
killing infected or cancerous cells. The Company’s two lead
clinical-stage programs are: TG4010, a therapeutic vaccine for non-small
cell lung cancer and Pexa-Vec, an oncolytic virus for liver cancer. The
Company has several other programs, including TG4001, in clinical and
preclinical development. Transgene is based in Strasbourg, France, and
has additional operations in Lyon, as well as a joint venture in China.
Additional information about Transgene is available at www.transgene.fr.

DisclaimerThis press release contains
forward-looking statements, which are subject to numerous risks and
uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially
from those anticipated. The occurrence of any of these risks could have
a significant negative outcome for the Company’s activities,
perspectives, financial situation, results, regulatory authorities’
agreement with development phases, and development. The Company’s
ability to commercialize its products depends on but is not limited to
the following factors: positive pre-clinical data may not be predictive
of human clinical results, the success of clinical studies, the ability
to obtain financing and/or partnerships for product manufacturing,
development and commercialization, and marketing approval by government
regulatory authorities. For a discussion of risks and uncertainties
which could cause the Company’s actual results, financial condition,
performance or achievements to differ from those contained in the
forward-looking statements, please refer to the Risk Factors (“Facteurs
de Risque”) section of the Document de Référence, available on the AMF
website (http://www.amf-france.org)
or on Transgene’s website (www.transgene.fr).
Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are
made and Transgene undertakes no obligation to update these
forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in
the future.

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